Chapter 1: The Real Leah Clearwater

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. Stephenie Meyer does. If I own Twilight, Leah would have her happy ending.

A/N: I apologize for the grammar mistakes you might encounter. Reviews are lovveeed. A hint of Nessie-bashing by the way. Unfortunately, BD is not ignored.

"You imprinted."

It wasn't a question. But on instinct, he answered.

"Yes."

"How could you?" she half-whispered. "You said you hate the idea of imprinting."

"It wasn't something I could control, Leah," Jacob half-growled.

"You imprinted on a half-breed!" she shouted.

"Don't call her that!" he commanded, unconsciously, in his Alpha voice.

Leah cowered back in fear at the command in her Alpha's voice. "Of course, my Alpha. I will do as you please."

Jacob realized what he just said. "Oh shit. Leah, I'm sorry."

Leah shook her head. "You are my Alpha. I will follow you."

"Leah, don't be like that," Jacob said. "I didn't mean to..." Shit, I'm being like Sam.

"I'll leave you to your thoughts," Leah said as she walked away from him.

"Fine! Be that way!" he shouted back to her retreating form, his childish temper getting to him. Why should she care if he imprinted? She didn't care about him. She lost her boyfriend because of imprinting remember?

But what am I to her for her to be so affected like this?

Oh right, she hates imprinting.

Shit.

***`***

Leah wandered around aimlessly through the forest near the Cullens' house. Damn the Cullens and their demon spawn of a child, she thought bitterly.

She thought that by joining Jacob's pack, she would leave Sam and her thoughts about Emily behind.

Instead I got Jacob thinking about the Loch Ness Monster, she thought with a shiver.

Seriously though, her thoughts continued. I thought he could finally get over that Bella girl and just move on with his life. But instead, he imprints on her daughter. Great, just great. I wonder if I could survive on my own.

"Don't leave, Leah," came the sound of her little brother's voice. "I mean, just don't. I know that you can be pretty annoying at times but you're my sister."

Leah was surprised at the sadness in his voice so unlike his usual perkiness. "I'm not leaving, twerp." Though I was planning to. "Just… thinking about stuff and how the hell I could block Jake's thoughts about the Loch Ness monster."

"I could think about what the square root of pi is," Seth suggested.

"Do you even know what the square root of pi is?" Leah asked with a raised eyebrow.

Seth paused for a while until he answered, "No."

"Then how could it be a distraction?" Leah asked.

"Well, I know it has a lot of numbers in it," Seth said with a slight boyish grin.

"Then why don't you just count from 1 to a million?" Leah asked, a smile now forming on her lips. Seth could be annoying at times but he was still her brother and Leah cared a hell lot about him.

"I was trying to make it sound cool," Seth said with a pout. Yes, Seth was actually pouting. He was pouting in a ridiculous way that almost made Leah laugh. Well, almost.

"Well, it didn't work."

"I know." Seth then paused for a moment, trying to weigh the words of what he would ask. He wished that Leah wouldn't bite his head off if he asked that particular question. "Why do you care?"

"Hm?" Leah asked with her eyes closed.

"Why do you care that Jake imprinted?"

Leah's body suddenly went rigid. Seth backed away, afraid that he upset her. He wished that she wouldn't imprint because she might attack him in wolf-form. Seth almost hit himself as he realized what he just said. Of course Leah couldn't hurt him. She wouldn't hurt him. He was one of the reasons why she followed Jake right?

But then again, getting away from Sam was also another one.

Seth didn't almost notice that Leah had already spoken. "I don't really know, Seth. I guess it's because in the depths of my heart, I thought that Jacob could understand me. We were two halves, we could be friends. I hoped that it would be that way. You know, I actually offered him the thought of running away together. You can't come, of course. We could just run anywhere, to get away from everything." Her face suddenly became like stone, rigid and hard. Seth could almost feel the hatred coming off from her. "But then he became one of them; so lovesick and just so damn happy."

Seth walked over to Leah and fought the urge to hug his sister. No matter what happens, they would always be siblings. No matter how much they fight or hurt each other, they would remain to be there for each other. He then looked up at his sister's face and found that her eyes had tears in them. Seth froze. Leah could be anything. She was tough, strong and hard but now, he saw a different side of Leah; the real Leah. It was the Leah who cried over Sam, who mourned over her loss. He found the Leah that was broken and vulnerable.

He then realized that Leah was never a bitter harpy. She was just a girl who loved someone only to have her heart broken in the end. He had finally realized why Leah was so snappy and bitchy. She was hurting and in order to not be pitied, she had to put on a brave face. She had to show them that she didn't need Sam, and she had to show Sam how much he hurt him. At first, Seth found this ridiculous and he thought that his sister was a bitch and she deserved to be hated but now, looking at his sister, he never felt so wrong in his life. In fact, Leah didn't deserve anything that happened to her. She was nice and happy but fate had turned her cruel and depressed.

She never cried at the funeral for their father, and now Seth knew why. The death of their father only made her retreat further into her shell. It was a hard shell that she refused to get away from. She must have been tired of crying. She must be dried up. Things were only worse after their father's death. She had learned she was a werewolf. Or shape-shifter. Whichever. But to her, she was abnormal. There was no record of female werewolves, or shape-shifters, anywhere. Even with them, she didn't belong. She was a genetic dead-end, as she always tells herself.

Seth couldn't help but disagree.